Background Noise
by Yami B666
Summary: Roxas' abandonment of the Organization was a bittersweet moment for Demyx. [DemyxAxel oneshot.]


Written for LJ's 15pairings community. Enjoy.

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Roxas' abandonment of the Organization was a bittersweet moment for Demyx. He had loved the obedient, strong-willed blonde with all of his nonexistent heart. Roxas had been quiet, seemingly patient, tolerant of all of Demyx's shenanigans and Axel's gregarious personality. He would only glare silently every time Xigbar made a snide remark in his direction, and debate politely whenever Xemnas refused to answer his questions.

Perhaps this was why, for all his insistence against having a heart, Axel eventually fell in love with him.

The day Demyx had seem them together had been the day he had lost his heart again, had it torn out unwittingly by the Key of Destiny. He and Axel had shared many moments of their own before Axel was drawn to Roxas – intimate scenes that had been washed out of Axel's memory as soon as Roxas had shown his light. It seemed that water and fire could not exist together.

Roxas was such a quiet, extraordinary boy. Completely the opposite of the sitar-playing, ordinary Melodious Nocturne.

Roxas was a skilled, willing fighter. He made Demyx look cowardly.

He was graceful, attractive, whereas Demyx was just a goofy klutz.

He was in love with Axel, just as Demyx was.

He was a fucking white façade.

He ignored all of Xemnas' orders, Demyx's requests, Axel's _pleas_, and turned his back on the Organization in search of his blue jewel. Axel ran after him, drawn to his light like a stupid insect. And Roxas, without even turning around, had managed to one again unwittingly destroy the tentatively created heart of another Nobody.

He wasn't so intelligent, really. Not so obedient, and definitely not patient. Just a perfect little actor, awarded for his performance with Axel's love.

News of Roxas' betrayal spread through the Organization like wildfire. At first, Demyx was shocked, saddened by his friend's departure. Then, almost instantly, his thoughts turned to Axel: Had he heard? Where was he? And, most importantly, was he all right?

…Was Axel now his?

Demyx tore through the labyrinth that was their home blindly, searching everywhere desperately for his friend. If he hadn't have scanned outside carefully twice he would have missed Axel, who was sitting in the darkness silently, soaked to the bone by the falling rain.

Axel wasn't suited to water. It extinguished his fire. It made his normally spiky hair flat, plastered to his face. And it always made him cold, no matter how warm it might have started off.

Demyx knelt down in front of Axel, taking in how still and silent the normally outgoing man was.

"You know…?"

Axel just nodded. If he was crying, the tears were lost in the rain.

"I see." Of course Axel would know. Axel had probably clung to Roxas the way a man clings to a cliff ledge before plunging to his death. It would have taken all of Roxas' strength to throw Axel off him.

"I tried to stop him." Axel's voice was hoarse, as though he had either been screaming or he hadn't used it in a long time. "Now they're going to kill him, I know it."

Demyx nodded numbly, wishing he knew what to say. Instead of speaking, he hesitantly placed a hand on Axel's shoulder in a pathetic attempt to comfort him - to his surprise Axel took his hand and pulled him into an embrace.

Axel was freezing. Demyx lay in his arms, not wanting to move but knowing he had to get Axel out of the rain. Slowly he stood up, gently pulling Axel up with him and opening a portal into Axel's bedroom.

Axel was silent as Demyx stripped him out of his wet clothes, and moved when necessary. As Demyx wrung the wet clothes out in the far corner of the room he could feel Axel's eyes on him, and wondered whether Axel could really see him, or whether he was just building a model of Roxas in his mind's eye.

"What do I do?"

Demyx jumped, startled by the sudden break in the silence. He kept his eyes on Axel as he laid out the clothes on the floor to dry.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "You do, though." When Axel just looked at him expressionlessly, he wet his lips and continued. "Just… pretend you have a heart for a moment, and listen to it."

Axel looked at him for a moment longer before falling bonelessly onto the bed, burying his face in his hands. Demyx sighed and sat next to him, waiting patiently for him to pull himself together. As he gazed down at Axel, he realised he'd forgotten just how thin and fragile the man looked without his cloak.

"I should have known…" Axel uttered from under his hands. "Something like that… it couldn't last, you know?"

Demyx could only nod. He knew exactly what Axel was talking about. The light that burns twice as bright burns for half as long, after all. And he had thought his and Axel's relationship before Roxas had burned very, very brightly.

Axel sat up and sighed. "You're soaked," he said, looking at Demyx passively.

Demyx shook his head. "Not as much as you were." Axel's hair was still drenched, his skin still damp. He was still very cold.

"Axel…" Demyx trailed off, realising his words would only be meaningless, empty echoes in Axel's mind. Instead he chose to squeeze Axel's shoulder gently and drop a soft kiss on his forehead before turning to leave.

But suddenly, his hand was caught.

"Don't go," Axel sounded like he was almost begging. "Stay with me."

Demyx turned around and looked down at Axel. The fire in Axel's eyes had completely burned out, and Demyx doubted he could light it again.

"…I want you to stay with me."

Regardless, Demyx was going to try. He nodded and sat back down, and wasn't at all surprised when Axel pulled him into a desperate kiss.

He was completely aware that he was only background music, noticeable only when everything else had been taken away. But Axel's skin against his, his lips, his caresses, were too good; Demyx had wanted Axel's touch again for a long, long time. And his last thought before falling asleep beside the redhead was how he had used Axel, milked his sorrow for all it was worth.

Demyx dreamed. A minotaur was making its way through their labyrinth, growing closer every second. Demyx sat bolt upright and stumbled out of the bed, terrified and feeling incredibly alone. But Axel just lay there, unmoving, his eyes locked on the bedroom door.

The door opened and Roxas stepped in, allowing light to flood into the deep red room. Axel smiled and reached out to him, carefully climbing out of bed as Roxas took his hands and led him towards the door. Demyx remained completely unnoticed as the scene faded into whiteness.

And when he awoke the next day, Demyx was not surprised to find Axel had gone.

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